Shiftable ladder support



Feb. 20, 1951 F. MEHRINGER 2,542,256

SHIFTAB LE LADDER SUPPORT Filed March 22, 1948 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Feb. 20, 1951 UNiTED STATES FATENT OFFICE SHXFTABLE LADDERSUPPORT Frank Mehringer, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application March 22, 1948, Serial No. 16,377

4 Claims.

This invention relat? shiftable ladder supports.

Painters, window cleaners, maintenance men, and the like, find itnecessary to make extensive use of ladders. When using the conventionalnon-ambulant type of ladder the workman is required to climb down fromthe ladder each time it becomes necessary to shift it to a new location.Upon arriving at the bottom of the ladder he must then move it to thechanged position and then again ascend in order to continue working.This procedure is not only tiresome and timeconsuming, but is alsodangerous. A misstep in ascending or descending a ladder can result in avery serious accident, and the greater the frequency of such ascent ordescent, the greater the possibility of accidents occurring therefrom.

to improvements in It is therefore a general object of the inven-.

tion to provide a shiftable support for a ladder whereby a workman canmove a ladder longitudinally of any wall against which it is supported,without having to descend from his position on the ladder.

A further object of the inventionis to provide a shiftable laddersupport, the lower or carriage portion of which is provided with brakemeans which automatically locks the carriage against movement when it isnot positively actuated by the workman.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shiftable laddersupport of the class described which permits turning of the ladder toconform to irregularities, such as bays and the like, which form part ofthe wall against which the ladder is supported.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shiftable laddersupport for use in conjunction with a conventional ladder whichcomprises a wheeled support for the base of the ladder, as well as aWheeled support for the top or intermediate portions of the ladder.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shiftable laddersupport which may be quickly attached to or disconnected from aconventional ladder.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shiftable laddersupport which includesa wheeled support for an upper or intermediateportion of the ladder, which wheeled support is connectable to anyselected pair 'of adjacent ladder rungs and is provided with extensiblelegs for supporting the ladder at a selected distance spaced away fromthe wall against which the ladder is positioned.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shiftable laddersupport having a wheeled support for an upper or intermediate portion.

of the ladder, thewheels of which may be selectively turned to aposition permitting travel laterallyalong a wall or to a position atright angles to the first-mentioned position wherein movement along thewall is prevented.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of theimproved shiftable ladder support, and all of its parts andcombinations, as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

In the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this application,wherein is illustrated one complete embodiment of the preferred form ofthe invention, and wherein the same reference characters represent thesame parts in all of the views;

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the wheeled support forthe bottom of the ladder, the upper portions of the ladder being brokenaway;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view on a. slightly larger scaleshowing the lower wheeled support or carriage with the turntableplatform removed and with the front portions of the carriage brokenaway;

Fig. 3 is a front end perspective view of the carriage on a smallerscale, showing the invention attached to and supporting a ladder :adja-.

cent a wall, part of the ladder being broken away and shown in sectionto better show the upper support;

Fig. 4 is a top perspective view ofthe upper wheeled support; and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of the lower wheeledsupport or carriage show ing the operation of the brakes and brakelevers.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 3 of the drawing, the numeral It)indicates a conventional ladder, to an intermediate portion of which isconnected an upper wheeled support H. The ladder i0 is supported at itsvbase on a lower wheeled support or carriage l2.

.In'ithe preferred.- form, the carriage 12 comprises a frame formed of apair of substantially parallel angle members It. Projecting forwardlyand upwardly from the forward ends of the members I3, as is clearlyshown in Fig. 1, is a tubular M, having a substantially U-' is aU-shaped yoke E5, the arms of which projectv downwardly and areapertured adjacent the ends thereof, as at is (see Fig. 1). Mounted inthe apertures 46 of the yoke 15 is a front axle I! which is lockedagainst axial movement by a pair of diametrically extending cotter keysI8 projecting therethrough adjacent the inner surfaces of the arms ofthe yoke I5. A pair of wheels l9 are mount-.d for rotation on the outerends of the axle l1.

Pivotally mounted on the axle. ll, preferably between the arms of theyoke l and the wheels l7, and extending forwardly therefrom, are thearms of a substantially V-shaped tongue member 20. Fixed to the forwardend of the member 20 is a double sheave pulley 2|. Pivotally connectedto the arms of the member 28, as' by the pins 22 (see Fig. 1), are apair of downwardly and rearwardly extending brake arms 23. Connected tothe lower ends of the brake arms]?- is a horizontal transverse brakemember 24. The swinging movement of the arms 23 is limited by atransverse slot 25 in each of said arms, in which slot. pins 26 areadapted. to travel, the. latter: be.- ing fixedly connected to the armsof: the member 20.

' Spaced rearwardly of, the forward end of the: member: i l andconnected transversely-to both of. the arms thereof, is a: strap member21:. Rigidly connected to the strap member and extending forwardly anddownwardly to pivotally connectwith the axle I'i, as at 28, is a: brace29. Spaced above the strap 21 and supported thereon by a. connectingmember 30, is a double sheave pulley 31. Connected to: the underside ofthe left hand arm of the member is and. adjacent the; forward.

end of the left hand frame member [.3 is a, guide-1oop32, the functionof which will become apparent hereinafter...

The frame members l3 are formed with; corresponding apertures 33adjacent the. rear ends thereof, and mounted" in said: aperturestransversel'y of the. frame members i 3; isiarear'axle. 34;. Mounted forrotation on the outer-ends of. the rear'axle 34 is. a pair Of'WhEElSi3.5;. The axle 34 is locked against rotation or axial movement by aboltwhich rigidly connects, itrto one. of the.

frame-members l3;

Pivotally connected to each of theframe=members l3 rearwardly of: theaxle: 34 is a brake arm 3?. The arm 31 connected to the left hand. framemember: l3 extends upwardly beyond said frame member. as: shown. inEig-2.. Connected.

to; the lower ends: of the brake arms 31 is a:- horizontally extendingbrake member; 38.. Mounted on'the' outer side of therleft hand framemember I3 forward of the axle 34- is; a single sheave pulley 39.

Positioned intermediate the length ofthe' frame i2 and preferablysupported onand connected to the frame members this a transverse framemember 41ft. Superimposedon the member 40, and

fixed. thereto is a bearing plate 4!, preferably formed with abearingrcollar: 42'. The plate ll, asxwell as the member All, are:apertured as at 43,.

Mounted upon the: forward; ends. of. the frame members. [3; are a pairof. spaced transversely extending: anglebracketstl i and 45* (see Fig.2),. Rotatably supported between the angle brackets 6t! and are;preferably three; spacedrollers 4.6 whichextend substantially radiallywith respect: tothe: aperture 43 in the plate 4|.

Spaced: rearwardly from. the member 40... ap-

proximately the. samev distance therefrom. as: are

the. brackets Maud 4155 and mounted on the frame: members [3" are a.pair of. spaced: transverse angle brackets 41 and d8. Rotatably carriedby the brackets 37 and 38 are preferably three spaced rollers 39 whichalso extmd substantially radially with respect to the aperture 33 in theplate 4!. The upper surfaces of the rollers 46 and 5% project above thebrackets cc and 45 and above the brackets ll andild respectively.

' Supported on the rollers 46 and 49 is an elongated platform 59.Extending downwardly through the, central portion of the platform 5E andthrough the aperture 43 of the plate ti and member 40 is a pivot bolt5i. The platform 50 is susceptible of turntable movement about theboltrfii, and the disposition of the rollers til and t9 provides forsupport of the ends of the platform 59 in any position thereof Withinthe limits of. its turning range. Experience has shown that a turningrange of about 10 in either direction from the neutral longitudinalposition of the platform 5%! shown in Fig. 1 is safe and is sufficientfor most purp0s-s. Extending upwardly from each end of the platform 50and from the central portion thereof are bearing plates 52. The plates52 are formed with alined apertures 53. Arod. 54 is removably supportedin the apertures! 53 of the plates 52 as shown in Fig. 1..

A conventional ladder It may be mounted on the platform 50 by formingcorresponding apertures adjacent the lower end of each leg thereof andby placing the apertured portions of the ladder on the platform 5%] withthe rod 54' extending through the apertures 53 of the plates 52 as wellas through the apertures 55 of. the ladder H]. In this relationship, thelad.- der I0 is locked in position on the platform 59, as is evidentfrom Fig. 1.

Preferably prior to the attachment of the ladder ill to the platform asof the carriage 32, the upper ladder support H is attached to a pair ofadjacent rungs. 56 and 5 of the ladder ll]; Referring to Figs. 3 and- 4,the support it preferably includes. a generally U-shapedhorizontallyextendingi member 58-, the ends of which are bent to formrung engaging members 59. The rung engaging members 59 are adapted toengage the rung 56, which is. the upper of the two rungs mentioned.Projecting angularly downwardly'from a central portion of the member 58is a. bracket 60, the lower end of which is formed with a rung engagingmember 5!. The member" 61 is provided with a. bolt 62 and Wingnut: 63 tolock the member 6! to the rung,

51' as shown. in Fig. 3, thereby locking the upper wheeled support H tothe ladder ill in the manner: shown..

The member 58 is formed with a pair of spaced bosses 64 on the outerside of an intermediate portion thereof (see Fig; 4). The bosses 64and'the member 58 are apertured, and threaded into said aperture are a,pair' of elongated threadedarms 65, each of which is provided with awinged: lock nut 66. Mounted for rotation on: the. outer ends of thearms 65 are a pair o.f.;wheels 6'l;.. By reason of the threadedconnection. between: the. arms: 65 and the bosses 64 the distance awayfrom the member 58 at which; the; wheels: 61 are: supported may bereadily-varied; In addition, the arms 65 with.

thewheels 6'! may be. selectively'turned so that the wheels 51extendeither'in substantially the same plane- (as shown in Fig: 4) or inplanes at right angles thereto (asshownin Fig. 3), and the:wingnuts'fifi may be-used to lock the arms 5.5 in. any desired positionvof longitudinal and rotative adjustment.

In use of the invention the apparatus as shown in Fig. 3 is positionedalongside one end of the wall which the workman wishes to traverse. Thecarriage I2 is spaced away from the wall and is preferably positionedsubstantially parallel thereto, as shown. Preferably beyond the end ofthe wall and remote from the carriage 12 a single sheave pulley B8 issuitably mounted, as for example, by being connected to a stake B9driven into the ground. A relatively small rope or line 19 is then tiedat one end to the upper end of the left hand rear brake lever 31 asshown in Fig. 2. The line 10 is then brought forwardly and threadedthrough the pulley 39, through the guide loop 32, through one sheave ofthe pulley 3|, through one sheave of the pulley 2|, and is then carriedto the sheave 68. The line in is threaded through the sheave 68, iscarried back through the second pulley of sheave 2|, through the secondpulley of sheave 3|, and is then extended up the ladder ID to any rungwhich is convenient to the workman on the ladder. The line Ill ispreferably secured to said rung as shown in Fig. 3.

With the apparatus in the relationship shown in Figs. 1 and 3, theladder In is firmly supported by the carriage l2 and by the uppersupport H, and the workman can stand on the ladder anywhere he choosesto do his work. The carriage I2 is prevented from moving longitudinallyby reason of the action of the brakes 2d and 38 against the wheels isand 35 respectively. Referring to the solid line showing in theschematic diagram of Fig. 5, it is apparent that the front brake 24prevents forward movement of the carriage l2 and the rear brake38prevents rearward movement. The wheels 61 of the upper support H areshown in Fig. 3 to extend in a vertical plane, and thereby lock thesupport I I and the upper portions of the ladder it) against lateralmovement along the wall.

When the workman desires to move the ladder laterally along the wall inthe direction toward the sheave 68, he may do so without descending fromhis position on the ladder. All he need do is loosen the wingnuts 66 onthe arms 55, turn the arms 65 and the wheels 6'! so that the wheelsextend in substantially'the same plane (as shown in Fig. 4), tighten thewingnuts 66 to lock the arms 65 against rotation, and then pull upwardlyon the line 16. An upward pull on the upper end of the line 'H) willhave two main effects. First, as shown by the dot and dash lines of Fig.5, the tension causes a raising of the tongue member 20, which permitsthe brake arm 23 and the brake 24 to swing downward relative to themember 20 and away from the front wheels [8. Substantiallysimultaneously with the release of the front brake 2d, the tension onthe line 18 causes an upward and rearward swinging movement of the rearbrake levers 3'! and the rear brake-38. As is clearly shown in Fig. 5,this swinging movement brings the rear brake 33 out of contact with therear wheels 35. Upon the release of the front and rear brakes, furthertension in the line 20 will pull the carriage. E2 toward the sheave 68.As the carriage l2 moves, the wheels 61 roll along the wall and permitmovement of the ladder 19 along with the carriage.

When the assembly has been moved a desired distance, release of thetension on the line 16 will immediately permit the tongue member 20 andthe rear brake levers 3'! to swing downwardly and to thereby bring thebrakes 24 and 38 into contact With the front and rear wheelsrespectively, locking the carriage 12 against longitudinal movement ineither direction. The wingnuts 66 should then be loosened and the wheels6'? turned to again extend in vertical planes as shown in Fig. 3, tolock the upper support i against lateral movement.

By reason of the longitudinal adj-ustability of the arms 65 relative tothe frame 58, the ladder ill may be held by the upper support 5 l in aposition spaced any desired distance away from the wall. For example, ifit is desired to have the ladder positioned outwardly from the eaves ofa house, an extension of the arms 65 will so permit. It will be noted,in this regard, that when using the invention it is never necessary tolean the ladder against eavestroug-hs or other easily damaged portionsof a building. The support ll can be selectively attached to the ladderat a height where, in traversing the wall, it will not come in contactwith windows, doors or the like, but instead will have a clear surfaceagainst which to travel throughout the length of the wall.

When the carriage travels toward the sheave 68 and the wheels 6'! of theupper support I! roll along the wall and come to a bay window, thewheels 51 will traverse the bay in the same manne as if it were a flatwall. liy reason of the turntable feature of the platform 53, the ladderand the platform will turn relative to the carriage 52 in order toconform to the irregularity in the wail caused by the bay. The carriage,however, will continue to travel in a straight line toward the sheave88, while the platform 5% and the ladder it are turning in their travelforward. as above described.

To disassemble the improved ladder support it is only necessary toremove the rod from the apertures 55 of the ladder, take the ladder offof the platform 50, and then remove the upper support it from theladder, after first removing the bolt 62 and the wingnut 53 from themember 6!. This can be done very quickly and easily. The apparatus issafe, compact, and strong, and accomplishes marked savings in both timeand labor. By reducing the frequency with which a workman must ascendand descend a ladder, the danger of accidents therefrom iscorrespondingly reduced.

Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention, and all of such changes are contemplated, aswill come within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a supported ladder assemblage, a shiftable carriage comprising: aframe for supporting the base of said ladder; a pair of spaced coaxialwheels rotatably mounted at the front end of said frame; a pair ofspaced coaxial wheels rotatably mounted at the rear end of said frame;an anchor remote from the carriage; a brake member pivotally mounted onthe front endof said frame and normally urged by gravity into brakingengagement with both of said front wheels; a brake member pivotallymounted on the rear end of said frame and normally urged by gravity intobraking engagement with both of said rear wheels; and a line accessiblefrom an elevated position on the ladder and connected to said front andrear brake members and to said anchor for pivoting said brake membersout of engagement with said wheels and for thereafter moving saidcarriage toward said anchor in response to a pull on said line.

2. In a supported ladder assemblage, a shiftable carriage comprising: a,main frame for supporting the base,v of said ladder; an. auxiliaryframe, pivotally connected to the front end of. said.

riage; a brake member pivotally mounted on said auxiliary frame andnormally urged by gravity into braking engagement with both Ofl saidfront wheels; a brake member pivotally mounted on the rear end of saidmain frame and normally urged by gravity into braking engagement withboth of said rear wheels; and a line accessible from an elevatedposition on the ladder and connected to said front and rear brakemembers and to said anchor for pivoting said brake members out ofengagement with said wheels and for thereafter moving said carriagetoward said anchor in response to a pull on said line.

3. In a supported ladder assemblage, a shiftable carriage comprising: aturntable for removably supporting the base, of said ladder; a frame forsupporting said turntable; a pair of spaced coaxial wheels rotatablymounted at the. front. end of saidframe; a pair of spaced coaxial wheelsrotatably mounted at the rear end of said frame; an anchor remote fromthe carriage; a brake member pivotally mounted on the front end of saidframe and normally urged by gravity into braking engagement with both ofsaid front wheels; a brake member pivotally mounted on the rear end ofsaid frame and normally urged by gravity into braking engagement withbothv of said rear wheels; and a line accessible from an elevatedposition on the ladder and connected to said front and rear brakemembers, andto said anchor for pivoting said brake members out ofengagement with said wheels and for thereafter moving said carriagetoward said anchor in response to a pull on said line.

a 4;. In;a;-. supported ladder assemblage; a1;shittable carriage;comprising: a; turntable, for: supporting the, base of saidv ladder; amain frame for. supporting said turntable; anauxiliary frame pivotallyconnectedto the front. end of said: main frame, and rotatable: in ahorizontal plane; a;

pair of -spaced coaxial wheels rotatably mounted on said-auxiliaryframe; a pair of. spacedcoaxial wheelsrotatably mounted at the rearendofsaid main frame; an anchor remote. from the carriage; a: brakemember pivotally mounted on said. auxiliaryframeand; normally urged bygravity into braking engagement with both of said front. wheels; a brakemember pivotally' mounted on the rear end of said main frame andnormally urged by gravity into, braking engagement with both of saidrear, wheels; and a line accessible, from. an elevated position on theladder and con-- nectedato. said front and rear brake members and tosaidanchorfor pivoting said brake membersi out1 of. engagement. with saidWheels and for thereafter moving said carriagev toward saidanchor inresponse-to a pull on said: line:

FRANK MEI-IRINGER.

REFERENCES. CITED;

The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 972,001 Holdorf. .Oct. 4', 1910.-1,004,284 Lehmann Sept; 26, 1911. 1,447,092 Larson Feb. 27, 1923-l,503,58l Fleming Aug..5j, 1192 1, 576,695 Weber Mar. 16, 1926 1,926,697Murphy- Sept. 12., 1933 1,997,462 Hansen M Apr. 9, 1935 2,046,5l6Johnson July 7,1936- 2-,27-2,642 Owen Feb. 10, 1942' 2,499,091 BrubakerFeb. 28, 1950

